Follow-Up Items:
Plenty of openings on Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin Field Trips: https://www.wisconservation.org/field-trips/
For additional SE Wisconsin Bird Walks – scroll all the way down!
Last Week:
Mequon Nature Preserve. After a one-hour rain delay, four of us met at MNP. We started on the eastern side winding around the ponds and coming back on the trail north of the building. We saw a male Baltimore Oriole in a willow tree and heard a few Common Yellowthroats and Red-winged Blackbirds around the first pond. All of the Tree Swallows using the nest boxes seemed to have fledged. There were lots of Tree Swallows swooping around us. We heard and then saw an Eastern Meadowlark along the north fence trail.
As we headed up the Lower Link Trail we heard a Henslow’s Sparrow. By the time we got to the Bluebird box we were hearing two. Soon after that Katie spotted one farther up the hill on a stalk. And then a second Henslow’s flew by the perched one. That made four! As we still had not seen a Dickcissel we continued up the north trail through the prairie. Marilyn heard a Sedge Wren in the field. We soon saw it too. A quick side trip to Paul’s Pond bridge yielded two Marsh Wrens, a Hooded Merganser and half dozen Mallards. The day was heating up by now. The trail back to the lot had another Common Yellowthroat, Sedge Wren, Blue Jays and an Eastern Bluebird.
eBird list: Mequon Nature Preserve
Milwaukee parks that need birding this week
The county tracks every parkland and records to see if there are surveys recorded on eBird. Every year they identify priority parks by week. A park could be a priority because there are no surveys done in that week; or because there are surveys but they think there may be more species there than previously identified.
Based on the spreadsheet they create, Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society curates suggested locations based on accessibility to the property (some of the parkway locations are difficult to access) and availability on the ebird hotspots tool. Follow Wisconsin Metro Audubon on Facebook for their weekly park posts. Click on the triangle to see this week’s list.
Milwaukee Parks that need birding this week
- Back Bay Park
- Bender-Fitzsimmons Rd
- Boerner Botanical Gardens
- Cudahy Park
- Cupertino Park
- Holt Park (enter from the east side, around 103rd)
- Juneau Park south (roughly divide the park in half)
- Little Menomonee River Parkway #4 – Ebird hotspot is little Menomonee River pkwy N of Good Hope, west of Hwy 145.
- Lyons Park
- Maitland Park
- Oak Creek Pkwy #6, 10, 11, 12 (north and south- note that 12 does not have any trails so it’s off-roading a bit)
- Root River Parkway 1, 5, 7 and 18 (no trails on this last one)
- Sheridan Drive
- Uihlein Park
- Wisconsin Ave Park
Please track your time spent! At the end of the year WMAS provides hours to the county. Find a park and a park map: https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/Find-a-Park
Note- even if it’s already been birded this week, going another day (or a different time of day) helps. The parks department has a number of surveys it wants for each park, so birding more than once this week is very helpful!
Ongoing Bird Walks:
Sundays 8:00am Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society Bird Walk (WMAS)
Wehr Nature Center 9701 W College Ave. No registration required.
Second Sundays 10:00-11:30am The Art of Birding with Chuck Stebelton at Lynden Sculpture Gardens will run April through August. Register for walks HERE by the Friday before
Tues 8:00am Menomonee Valley Urban Ecology Center (UEC), 3700 W Pierce St
Wed 8:00am Washington Park Urban Ecology Center (UEC) 4023 W Galena St
Thurs 8:00am Riverside Park Urban Ecology Center (UEC) 1500 E Park Place
Third Saturdays 8:00am Schlitz Audubon Nature Center 1111 E Brown Deer Rd, Registration required, https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/event/saturday-morning-bird-walk-15/
Check out Chirp Chat episodes all about birding Milwaukee
Nearby Bird Clubs to checkout:
Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club meets at Retzer Nature Center.
Hoy Audubon Society meets in Racine
Ozaukee Washington Birding Coalition meets at second Wednesdays at Riveredge Nature Center, Lac Lawrann in West Bend, Mequon Nature Preserve or Cedarburg Bog
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Bird Club second Wednesday at 6:30pm
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society (WMAS), third Wednesday at 7:00pm Wehr Nature Center
Upcoming:
Have a birding event to share? Let me know, share on the Contact Page
Walks listed are FREE unless noted. Please register if requested
UWM Field Station at Cedarburg Bog . Click on class link for more information and to register:
- Frolic, Fetch & Sketch, July 26-27, 2024
- Got Algae? Algal Diversity of the Kettle Moraine, August 02-03, 2024
- Wetland Delineation, August 09-10, 2024
- Restoring Upland Plant Communities, August 23-24, 2024
- Understanding Bird Populations and How They Change,
Thursdays 6:00-7:30pm, September 12 – October 17, 2024
AUGUST
Horicon Marsh Field Trip with WSO
Sunday, Aug 11, Time TBD. Free to WSO members/$10 non-members
Hike Old Marsh Road and drive the Auto Tour for a variety of marsh birds, shorebirds and waterfowl. Registration required HERE
Milwaukee Birders 